Human Behavior

So here comes another headline grabbing criminal trial. James Holmes, now 27, stands accused of murdering 12 and wounding 70 others in a mass shooting at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater in July 2012. Opening statements in the capital murder case are set for Monday.

Conservative leaning friends are going to tell me I’ve gone off the deep end. My more liberal minded friends are going to tell me I just don’t get it.

But let me make it clear – one thing I am not is soft on pedophiles. That said, the case of Kevin Rojano-Nieto epitomizes to me how misunderstood our criminal justice system is and how mandatory sentencing guidelines were doomed from the get-go.

Can I get a high-five and a hallelujah for the California judge who recently sentenced cyber-criminal Kevin Bollaert to 18 years behind bars? Finally, at least some of the smarmy creatures who psychopathically roam the dark corners of the internet are being brought to justice.

Every indication is that laws and punishments are slowly but surely catching up with these creeps.

Bollaert, 27, is one of those repulsive human beings who made money off the pain of others by posting so-called “revenge porn,” sexually suggestive photographs exchanged between lovers and then used to humiliate when the relationship soured. [click to continue…]

In the summer of 2008, Jodi Arias stabbed her boyfriend nearly thirty times, slashed his throat, shot him in the head and left him in the shower of his Mesa, Arizona home. Eleven days later, the attractive 28-year-old was arrested and the public became transfixed by her case.

Nearly seven years after the vicious murder Arias has yet to be sentenced on the finding that she is guilty of the first-degree premeditated murder of Travis Alexander. Two separate juries have deadlocked on whether she should be executed for the crime.

Now, under Arizona law, the death penalty is off the table and later this month a judge will finally announce her sentence – likely life in prison. [click to continue…]

Bravo and Hooray! We the American people have officially identified what’s wrong with this country.

For four straight months now the Gallup organization’s poll question, “What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?” has gotten the same answer. Respondents have concluded that it is (can I get a drum roll, please?) the government.

Gallup reports the economy and unemployment, healthcare, race relations and immigration all continue to worry us but dissatisfaction with our government is the most often mentioned concern these days. In addition, Gallup says 67% of us are not satisfied with the direction the United States is headed. [click to continue…]

Okay, so let me get this straight. We need to add the conflict in the Middle East to the list of things our politicians cannot agree upon. Is that right?

Our schismatic U.S. Congress – the body that makes the laws we are all bound to live by – can’t agree on what to do about immigration, long overdue tax reform, environmental issues, economic policies, budgetary matters and now they’re also divided on how to treat Israel — our strongest ally in the never ending war of ideologies in the Middle East? Really? [click to continue…]

There is a lot of unfairness in the world. The American justice system stands ready to counter that, right?

Not so fast.

When it comes to men and allegations of paternity women have a decidedly upper hand. Whatever the woman claims in court most often becomes fact. And once a court has ruled on paternity and established child support it can be next to impossible change. Not even if a DNA test excludes the man from any possibility of parenthood. [click to continue…]

Each day across this country lives are saved because a dedicated 911 operator dispatched emergency personnel to help a panicked person. Every year there are some 240 million urgent calls made to this ‘one nation, one number’ system. The value of the 911 organization is beyond question.

But how many times have you heard a recording of a 911 call in which the operator seems bored, uninterested or downright rude?

The latest incident occurred when a 14- year-old called from the back seat of a car to report her father and his fiancé had been struck by a hit-and-run driver while changing a tire. Sitting alone on the Baltimore-Washington Beltway she and her little brother were scared to death. [click to continue…]

Ruth is a retired school teacher living in Indianapolis. She’s led an exciting and rewarding life as a wife and mother. She dedicated a few years to serve as an elementary school teacher in Congo along with her husband. Even today, as a 93- year-old widow, she remains active thanks to a recently acquired walker.

Sometime in her early 80’s Ruth began to lose track of whether she had written her regular monthly check to her favorite charity. [click to continue…]